The Joining Returns
by BlueSkies23
Summary: The Joining used from The Batman traces a signal back to Earth- back to Robin. Now they seek only the destruction of the world, but they're in for more than they expect when a certain Dark Knight appears in Jump City... Abandoned/on permanent hiatus
1. Chapter 1: The Signal

Hey, fellow dudes and dudettes! This SHOULD be a cross-over between Batman/Justice League/Teen Titans, but I couldn't do three and I couldn't figure out the right categories and ARGHHHH! So…yeah. Now it's here.

This is my first story, so don't kill me if it gets a little crazy or confusing! Just drop me a note Critiques are appreciated!

Also, this chapter is shorter than normal chapters- most chapters will be a lot longer Yaaaaaaaay…*groan*

Yuppers. I probably won't be able to update this at all during November due to it being NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH (aka NaNoWriMo) and I'm going to write a different novel the whole month, so…I can't write anything else, really XP

ENJOY!

Disclaimer (funny how I forgot this the first 3 times I tried to upload this XP): I don't own Teen Titans. Or Batman. Or the Justice League. Or The Joining. (although that's be cool XP)

Spiderwebs hang from every square inch of the spaceship. A musty stench wafts through the corridor, and mold grows along the walls. Old Earth technology is scattered across the floor- a broken cell phone, a chipped satellite, as well as an old, dusty yellow belt with an R along the front. It holds different weapons, including a chipped Bat-a-rang, old smokebombs, and…a Bat communicator.

All of a sudden, the communicator vibrates and a bat flashes on the front of the screen. A robot-like creature raced over to the communicator, holding it in it's' hands. Its' eyes begin to glow rapidly, and the communicator's flashing begins to darken.

Finally, the communicator dies out, and the robot seems to smile. "The signal has been traced!" the robot cries. "It traces to Jump City, California, on Planet Earth!"

"Earth?" a voice from the darkness whispers. "Good…that should be him. Send the troops."

The robot nods and sends a message, one by one, to each of the millions of robots awaiting command.

_Go to Jump City. Find him and bring him to our leader. When the message has been received, find the Batman and kill him. _

Yup. The rest of the chapters will probably be better than this, I just wrote this really quickly so more people would be able to find it and read it. There also wasn't much to work with, if you know what I mean *wink wink*

So, I'll try and get another chapter out this week! Yaaaaay! Laters :P

~BlueSkies


	2. Chapter 2: The Appearance

Hey guys! This is a better chapter- I like the nightmare the best, the end was sorta rushed XP I'll try and get another chapter or two in before the end of November, but we'll have to see

So my formatting was weird last time, so I fixed it :P Hopefully it works better this time…

Yup. So…READ. And please review. It makes me a happy person

Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't own the Joining, Batman, Justice League, or Teen Titans. I wish I did, becase then the shows never would have been CANCELLED! RAAAAAAAAAR!

_The whole town was drenched in darkness, the cloak of the night destroying whatever light could possibly remain in the entire city. Even the street lights had slowly flickered out, one by one. No one drove in Gotham at night. Everyone who had was never seen again. After all, the night was the time when the criminals came out from their musty hiding places and wreaked havoc everywhere. Even the Batman couldn't stop every criminal._

_Suddenly, a piercing scream punched through the darkness. The people who lived nearby didn't even bother calling the police now; the soul was most likely already lost. Only the Batman could save her now, and he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Not this night. _

_Until now._

"_Don't make me shoot you again!" the husky man cried angrily. He had stubble all along his cheek, and eyes that were so ice blue that they could freeze you with one look. He held a short, stubby gun in his hand and pointed it at a weeping blonde woman who sat against the ground, her chest bleeding heavily. _

"_Please…I don't have my wallet with me. I left it at home-" the woman pleaded, but the man held the barrel of the gun directly against her forehead._

"_If you don't give me all of your money right now, I swear I will shoot you a thousand times over and drown your bloody body in Gotham Bay." He snarled, gripping the gun tighter and tighter._

_The woman sobbed desperately, holding out her hands. "I don't have-" _

"_Enough!" he cried. "I'll sort through your corpse if I have to!" He pushed the barrel against her head harder, and his finger began to flex along the trigger. Boy, did he get a thrill doing this…_

"_Step away from her." A cool, dark voice ordered._

_The man turned his head around, looking for the owner of the voice; but he couldn't find it. It was impossibly dark, he could barely see the outline of the woman he was attacking._

"_Who's there?" he called out, his eyes begging for some sort of light._

_Suddenly, he heard a loud crack from above. He looked up just in time to see the Batman's foot heading straight for his skull._

_He cried out in agony as the Batman kicked his head. He fell to the ground, and his hold on the gun tightened. He held his gun up, searching the sky to find the Batman._

_Then, he was lifted up into the air by his shirt and slammed against the brick wall of the nearest building. The Batman…_

_Batman moved his grip to the man's throat and held tightly. "She didn't have the money, so why mug her?" he asked calmly._

_The man didn't respond, and the Batman slammed him against the wall again. "Why!" he shouted._

"_Thought…she was…lying…" he gasped between short breaths. He was running out of oxygen; if he wasn't let go soon, he would-_

"_Batman?" a voice called out from behind him. Batman turned around to see his partner, a ten year old Robin, staring at him in shock. "Shouldn't we take him away now?" he asked. _

_Batman sighed. Robin still wasn't quite used to seeing the darker side of Gotham- the night._

_Batman let go of the man's neck, leaving him on the ground, gasping. "Come on," Batman replied. "We'll tie him up and the police will-"_

_The man grabbed his gun from the floor and aimed it angrily and the Batman._

"_No!" Robin cried, staring in horror as the man flexed his finger on the trigger, sending a bullet straight through the Batman's chest._

_The man ran away and the woman sat in horror in the corner, still weeping. Robin ran to Batman and quickly checked his pulse; he sighed in relief to see that Bruce was still breathing-_

_But wait. His pulse; it was running down, way to quickly…Robin frowned. "Batman?" he asked, shaking his body lightly. "Batman, wake up. We've gotta go."_

_Batman didn't move, and Robin's shaking increased. "Batman, if we don't get out of here, you'll die!" he cried angrily._

_Robin grabbed the Batman's communicator link. "Alfred?" he cried._

"_Master Dick! What are you doing with Master Bruce's-" Alfred's voice came over the communicator, but Robin quickly cut him off._

"_It's Bruce- he got shot! I don't know what to do…" he replied shakily._

_He heard a long pause before Alfred replied again. "I'm on my way." He whispered. "Richard, don't be scared, he's going to be fine."_

_Robin nodded. "I hope so."_

Robin gasped, waking up with a sudden jerk. Sweat was trickling down his face. _Just another nightmare from the old days…_he thought. _Nothing more. _

He sat up and looked into the mirror across the wall. He was only wearing a pair of blue boxers, and his hair was still spiked aggressively. The only thing he needed to fix before seeing his friends- well, besides putting on some actual clothes- was putting on his mask.

He stared into the reflection of his eyes; a bright blue that looked childish at times, but when used with Robin's usual glares, they could scare someone beyond their breaking point.

He slapped his white mask on a quickly got dressed in his usual uniform. He met with the rest of the team in the main hall, where Raven was making tea, Cyborg was making bacon and eggs, Starfire was making some sort of creation from her home planet Tamaran, and Beast Boy was making tofu waffles.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" Cyborg called out as Robin entered the room.

Robin glared at him for a moment, and then greeted everyone. "Hey, guys."

"Robin!" Starfire cried, hugging him with a crushing squeeze. "Oh, I had thought you would be in the sleep forever!"

Robin laughed. "You're killing me, Star." He replied between gasps of breath.

Starfire let go of him with a blush. "Oops," she whispered hastily. "I did not mean to-"

"It's okay." He said, shaking his head. "How long was I asleep, anyway?"

"It's, what, noon?" Cyborg replied. "And you're usually up at the crack of dawn. What's up?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Stayed up late last night reviewing some case files." He lied. Really, he had gone to bed early- it was the nightmares that got him. They always make him sleep in and feel like he'd only been sleeping for two hours when it had been over fourteen.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. That was the usual case with Robin. He was always…obsessing, over everything. Couldn't the guy ever relax?

Suddenly, the alarm sounded. "Trouble!" Robin cried.

"Who is it?" Beast Boy asked. "Cinderblock?"

Robin shook his head. "Doesn't say." He replied. "Maybe someone new?"

"Great." Raven murmured. "Another new villain. Like we need the extra work."

"Well, let's go give them a welcome present." Cyborg cried. "A nice knuckle sandwich!"

The Titans ended up in the center of the city. "Dude, where is the guy?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean, really. We went through all of the trouble to get here, and now he's probably on the other side of town!"

Beast Boy's ranting was cut short by a rapid explosion. Rocks pelted the Titans, and Robin just barely dodged one the size of his head. "I think we found 'em." Cyborg cried. "Look over there!"

A large spaceship laid in the middle of the city, halfway buried under the rubble. "Let's go check it out!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Wait!" Robin cried as Beast Boy ran toward the ship. It started smoking, and Robin watched as one of the doors on the spaceship opened, and a large figure stepped out of the ship. "Beastboy, get out of there!" he shouted.

The figure was a large robotic creature, surrounded by a purple glow. Robin knew it looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it…maybe something from Gotham?

The robot looked down at Beast Boy with a glare, its' red eyes glowing angrily. Suddenly, a red beam shot out from its' eyes and shocked Beast Boy. He screamed as he was shot backwards, toppling onto Cyborg. "Dude!" Beast Boy cried. "What are these things?"

"We are the Joining." The robot replied. "We are the Joining."

Robin shook his head, staring in disbelief. "No…no." he whispered.

"What?" Cyborg asked. "You've seen these things before?"

Robin nodded. "In Gotham…five years ago. They nearly destroyed the city; they got a hold on the Justice League's powers." He cursed under his breath. "It took all of the Justice League to destroy them."

Cyborg's eyes widened. "Uh oh…" he whispered.

Robin nodded. "We need more than the Titans…we need the League. And fast."

"How?" Cyborg asked, partly watching as the robot began to attack the other members of the team. They were losing- badly.

"Contact the Batman."

I tried to make the end sort of dramatic, but it didn't really work, sooo… XP

PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE! My smiley faces will thank you.

~BlueSkies


	3. Chapter 3: Meaningful Conversations

**A reply to the reviews : **

**Kvhbjkjdtystysdu: Thanks! **

**wolfeclipse25: Awesome! You totally just made my day **

**Hey y'all I finally fixed my formatting so it should be more clear at what's my notes to you at the beginning/end and what's the story **

**So…this might be the last chapter you see before I disappear for NaNo, but I will be starting some of my new Doctor Who fanfic before November, hopefully…it's called Nightmares Check out the summary on my profile :P If you can find it XP**

**Hahaha, I just realized that the first chapter is in present tense and these past 2 chapters are in past…well….I'm going to be writing in past tense from now on…hahaha…sorry I confused you XP**

**Basically…yeah. This is longer than the last chapter- I'm trying to get most of my chapters to be at least 1,500 words (obviously that didn't happen with the first chapter) but this chapter was more of a big chunk for you to hold onto for all of November :P So…yeah. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Or Batman. Or the Justice League. Or whatever else isn't mine in here XP**

Cyborg, trying to regroup the team so they could make their way back to the tower, blasted his sonic cannon at one of the Joining robots. He watched as the robot slammed backwards against the space ship. Smoke erupted from the wreckage, as Cyborg cried out, "Boo-yah! Guess we don't need the League after all!"

Then, right in the middle of his celebration, the robot sent out a large red beam that hit Cyborg square in the chest. He yelled as he plummeted backwards into a building, the bricks toppling onto his head. The team quickly raced over to unbury him, and after Cyborg was safe, Robin called out, "It's too powerful! We have to fall back!"

Beast Boy started at him in shock. "If we go now, it could take out the whole city!" he cried.

Robin shook his head. "I know, and that's a risk we have to take. But we can't do this alone!"

Robin threw three black smoke pellets, and smoke expelled out of the pellets, clouding the robot's vision. They raced back to the Tower, away from the Joining…

As they entered the Tower, they were gasping. Beast Boy fell onto the couch, turning into a dog. He panted nervously, as though he had just ran miles without stopping; well, because he _did. _They had to run miles and miles away from the Joining, who had managed to pursue them for the longest time. Even after the robot had lost their trail, they kept running, filled with terror that the Joining was still hiding behind them, or just past the corner…

"Do you believe that the robot has stopped the pursuit?" Starfire asked, her English still confusing, yet manageable.

Raven nodded. "It shouldn't be able to find us for a while; we raced all of the way across town."

"Yeah, like the big T won't tip it off…" Cyborg muttered.

Robin sighed. "We need to contact the League. The Joining is too strong for us; trust me, I've seen it before."

"Please, what is this League you peak of?" Starfire asked, a confused expression on her face. However, the rest of the team (minus Cyborg) was staring at him with wide eyes.

"The…the League?" Beast Boy asked. "Dude!"

"The League is a group of extremely strong superheroes." Raven explained for Starfire. "_Adult _superheroes."

"And they've all seen the Joining before." Robin told them. "About five years ago, the Joining came to Gotham…my old home."

At the mention of Gotham, Robin seemed to freeze. His old home…this, Titans Tower, was his home now. Cyborg nodded, his look softening, knowing what he was thinking of. Most of the time, the Titans had forgotten that Robin had an entire other life. A life with Batman; back in Gotham. Even more; an alter ego- the person behind the mask. Robin always had the most to hide…always.

"What did they do?" Beast Boy asked, knowing that this was sort of a…sensitive subject. It related to his old life, something he rarely talked about.

"They kidnapped the Justice League and took away their powers. They made these…robots, I guess. They had the League's powers. Eventually, we stopped them, but-" he began, but Beast Boy cut him off.

"We?" he asked. "You mean…_you _fought them?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. I lived there, didn't I? I wasn't about to let them destroy Gotham." _Or Batman…_he thought. As much as he didn't want to say it, he did think about his adoptive father. Batman…Bruce Wayne…all of those things wrapped into one.

Speaking of which… "I'll go talk to Batman- arrange for the League to come to Jump."

Cyborg shook his head. "Dude, all of us should-"

Robin cut him off. "Really; I should probably talk to him alone."

Raven nodded. "Go." She said with an encouraging, rare, Raven smile. "We'll wait." Raven knew all about Robin's past; after all, she had been in his mind. She had seen everything. She knew about Bruce, Gotham…even Dick Grayson, the teenager behind the mask.

Robin walked into his room, glancing back at the arguing Titans. He could hear the cried of Cyborg and Beast Boy who wanted to speak to "the great Batman", but Raven silenced them. Starfire was still a little confused about Gotham and Batman, as all she knew about Robin were the things she had experienced in the past two or three years at the Tower.

Robin entered his room, the posters slathered against the wall. Newspapers, all written about enemies, Gotham or Jump, as well as a few newspapers including information about Bruce Wayne. He had to keep tabs on his mentor.

Robin pulled out an old, rusty Bat Communicator. He had lost his first in a fight with the Joining, but he had gotten a new one just before he left. He grabbed it as he left, just in case he needed to talk to him. But Bruce hadn't noticed, he supposed. He never really noticed- that was why he left.

He picked up the bulgy telephone-like communicator, holding it up to his ear. He heard a slight ringing noise, listening for Bruce's voice.

"Hello?" a hoarse voice called out from over the communicator. "Who is this? I never set up this line…"

"It's me." Robin replied.

A thick silence seemed to last for hours. Robin could hear Batman's heavy breathing from across the line, as though in disbelief. After what seemed like days, a reply finally came to Robin.

"You lost your Bat-communicator." He replied, trying to convince himself. It couldn't be him…could it? "You left without a new one."

"I picked one up just before I left." Robin told him. "Knew I'd have to contact you some time."

Across the line, Batman shook his head. "After all this time?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Robin nodded. "Y-yeah." He replied, his voice beginning to shake.

"I don't understand…why now?" Batman wanted to know, his voice becoming quieter and quieter.

"We…there's trouble in Jump." Robin told him, finally back on the track of the conversation.

"Trouble?" Batman asked. "You're part of a team now…shouldn't you be able to handle it?"

Robin furrowed his brow. Was he…doubting them? "We're perfectly fine!" he defended. "It's just…they're back."

"Who?" Batman asked, now intrigued.

"The Joining." He whispered. "The Joining came to Jump."

Batman's eyes widened. "No…Robin, get out of there. It's not safe."

Robin frowned. "Look, I just need you to contact the League so we can have back-up. We're perfectly fine on our own!"

"Robin, don't you remember the Joining? They're too powerful. There's no way you can defeat them. Even the League had trouble last time. Just get out." Batman warned him, but Robin didn't listen.

"Bruce, stop underestimating us! We've got tons of branches of Titans- even Kid Flash and Speedy are with us!" Robin cried.

Batman went quiet at the mention of his name. "Is your team there?" he asked.

"No. I'm in my room. They're waiting in the main hall. If your identity is what you're worried about, Raven already knows." Robin told him quickly, not thinking about his last sentence.

"You…told one of your team members?" Batman asked, anger creeping into his voice. "Richard, do you understand what you've done?"

"I didn't tell her!" Robin bit back. "She had to go into my mind to save my life, and she accidentally discovered who I was!"

Batman shook his head. "Was?" he whispered. "Past tense?"

Robin's frowned. "Yeah. Past tense. I'm not Dick Grayson anymore, Bruce. You know that. Even you've taken on the role of Batman more than Bruce Wayne…"

"So this life isn't good enough for you?" he shouted. "You've just decided that being Dick Grayson isn't worth your time anymore? You know, you should be grateful- Alfred and I have been explaining your disappearance, saying you're going to a private school now that we had to buy the rights to so when they did their research, they wouldn't find anything too fishy! After all that, you're just going to throw him away?"

Robin closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. 10…9…8…

"You're throwing yourself away for nothing, Dick." Batman snarled. "Being a superhero isn't everything."

"That's not what you told me!" Robin screeched, letting go of any thoughts of calmness. "You tried to make me the perfect superhero- you trained me! For God's sake, Bruce, you gave me this life! Now you're telling me that my friends, my life…they're all worthless?"

"I didn't say it was them! It's the whole superhero thing, Robin…it makes you someone different- changes you beyond recognition! I'm barely even Bruce Wayne anymore, I had to give that up to be Batman! I don't want you to give up Dick Grayson!"

Robin was stunned. He stopped listening at the first sentence; he didn't mean them, then…no. _No. _He was sick of this. "You think I'm worthless." He whispered.

Batman shook his head. "Robin, I didn't mean-"

But he wasn't done. "You think I'm just some snot-nosed little kid who can't do anything! That's why you want us to get out of Jump- you think we're not good enough for the League, or…or anything!"

This conversation had taken a turn for the worse. And Robin still had steam left. All of these years, everything he had ever wanted to say to him, all of that anger, that pain…Bruce had given him a home and then snatched it away. That was who he was in his mind. He gave and took away; every time he felt like he was close to something, Bruce would yank it out of reach. He was never good enough for him. Now it was the other way around…

"We don't need your help anymore, Bruce." Robin told him coldly. "We can handle it on our own."

"Rob-"

"Goodbye." Robin said icily, disconnecting the Bat Communicator and chucking it against the wall.

Robin slammed his fist against the wall. Bruce was…ugh!

Robin stormed out of the room and looked up to see the team staring brightly at him. "So? When are they coming?" Cyborg asked, his expression like a lit up Christmas tree.

Robin shook his head. "Call the other Titans. We need everyone here to stop the Joining."

He started up the stairs to the roof. "What about the League?" Beast Boy asked.

"They're not coming. Just…call the Titans." Robin replied angrily. He raced up the steps, away from the Titans. He failed them…

"You go call the Titans." Beast Boy told the rest of the team. "I'll go talk to him."

Beast Boy raced up the stairs, scanning the roof for Robin. There! Robin was sitting on the edge, his feet dangling over, his eyes closed as if he were thinking strenuously.

Beast Boy sat down next to him. "So…bad talk with Batman?" he asked nervously.

Robin nodded. "It's as if he doesn't trust us; he kept saying there was no way we could beat the Joining. He should know what we can do. I know he's been keeping tabs on us. He surprised we can even defeat the normal criminals."

Beast Boy nodded. "I know the feeling…when I worked in the Doom Patrol, I was a little kid. Everyone else who took me in, they were…older. Stronger. Smarter. I could never measure up to them. They just thought I was a little kid who stuck around for laughs- I took everything seriously!"

Robin's eyebrows raised. "Everything?" he asked with a comical disbelief.

Beast Boy laughed. "Well, almost everything. But no one really thought I was good enough…Mento always looked down on me."

Robin looked at him in surprise. He had almost forgotten that Beast Boy worked in the Doom Patrol. They had a lot more in common than he thought…

"But you know…" Beast Boy continued. "He was wrong. I can do things- Hey, I'm part of the Teen Titans. That's an accomplishment, right? And you…you're _Robin, _man! Leader of the Teen Titans, protégé to one of the strongest members of the Justice League…You're totally worth it."

Robin grinned. "Y'know, you're right. Just because he says we can't do anything, doesn't mean we aren't worth it…right?"

Beast Boy smiled. "Yeah." He stood up and held out a hand to Robin. Robin stood up cautiously. "Now what?" Beast Boy asked.

"We call the Titans…and then destroy the Joining for good." He explained.

Beast Boy nodded. "Now that's the Robin I know!"

Suddenly, the tower shook, and winds whapped against Beast Boy and Robin's faces. Robin looked in horror up at the army of Joining robots, all descending from the sky…heading for…for…the tower.

"They found us…" Robin whispered anguishly.

Up, high in one of the Joining spaceships, a dark voice chuckled slightly. "Now…it begins."

**I hope you enjoyed it! Most likely no more until the end of November. Then I'll try and post a chapter as fast as I can! Thanks guys for all of the reviews, and for reading, and….see you in December! **


	4. Chapter 4: Titans, Go!

**Hi! Sorry it's been so long, but I was SUPER busy for a while… Enjoy this chaptahhhhh!**

"Dude!" Beastboy cried, stumbling backwards and falling on his back. Robin simply stood in shock, his fist clenched.

The rest of the Titans appeared behind them. "How'd they find us?" Cyborg asked, his nervousness shining through his voice.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Like Beastboy said; big tower?" she replied sarcastically.

"We've got to try and hold them off for now." Robin ordered. "Protect the civilians! Cyborg, how long until the other Titans get here?"

"About an hour." He replied.

Robin sighed. "Too long…we've got to try as hard as we can to put them off for the hour. Put in everything you've got!"

"_Titans, Go!"_

**Sorry this is really short, I'm **going** to make another longer one right now! **


	5. Chapter 5: Falling

**Yuppers! Here's another one, I just wanted that cliffhanger to be there at the end of the last chapter…XP**

**Disclaimer: (sorry, I forgot that for last chapter) I DON'T OWN TEEN TITANS BUT I WISH I DID YEAHHHHHH**

Their fight wasn't going well. The Titans were already running low on energy, and it had only been twenty minutes. Robin could feel the bruises already beginning to form on his body from the constant smacking into buildings and walls behind him.

"We can't keep this up!" Cyborg shouted, launching his sonic cannon into the millions of the Joining robots that surrounded them.

Robin shook his head. "We've got to! At least until the rest of the Titans get here."

Suddenly, Robin felt a large robot arm slam into his chest. His vision went black, and he vaguely felt his mask flying off into the wind. He waited as he flew through the air for Raven's black energy to consume him and bring him down, but as second passed, nothing happened. That's when the seriousness of his flying in the air hit him.

Literally.

He crashed through glass windows of a building, the obscured glass cutting into his skin in various place. He heard a few sharp cracks as he hit the floor, and the air knocked out of his lungs. He pushed himself up on his knees and opened his eyes, looking at the world without his mask. He could hear the calls of his worried friends from outside. "I'm in here!" he called out hoarsely.

He heard a loud creak from above, and he looked up, watching as a large piece of wood from the ceiling started to fall down towards him.

Then everything went black.

**LOL these are getting to be shorter chapters. Next chapter should be longer, though I'll try and update more, soon.**


	6. Chapter 6: Recovery

**Chapter 6**

**Reply to review:**

**Thaliag.2: Thanks! I'm going to try and make more of my chapters longer, I just had a lot of cliffhangers in mind.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, or Batman, or the Justice League, or…..yeah. :P**

The first sensation he felt was pain. At first, it was just a slight throb. Then, it radiated throughout his entire body, increasing the pain by too many levels. Robin felt sharp stabs of pain in his back and in his ribs, as well as small buzzes of pain across his legs, arms, chest, and face. His unmasked eyes felt light, as though they were the only things that survived the dilemma.

He opened his heavy eyelids and saw a distorted, blurry image of the world. He heard voices calling his name, but they weren't clear enough to register in his mind. He closed his eyes tightly and reopened them, trying to focus on the outside world.

"Robin?" the voice sounded like Cyborg's. His eyes quickly adjusted to the light, and he saw that it was Cyborg, his face filled with concern. "Dude, are you okay?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah…fine." He sat up and instantly felt a sharp, stabbing pain enter his back. He grimaced, and Cyborg laid his hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy, man, everything's okay." Cyborg reassured him, trying to force him back down. But Robin refused, pushing his arm away half-heartedly.

That's when Robin noticed; Cyborg was staring intently at his eyes. "What?' Robin asked. "What is it?"

Cyborg frowned. "Well…we kinda couldn't find your mask when we found you, so I can...y'know…see your eyes." He explained, stuttering.

Robin sighed. "Great."

He looked around at the room that he was in, and quickly noticed that he wasn't in the Tower. The room looked like a hospital, but it was deserted. A few other beds were around him, but they were all empty, and the room was disheveled.

It began to dawn on him that something was wrong. "Cyborg…what happened?" he whispered, his voice unsteady.

Cyborg sighed and began to explain. "We found you after you crashed into a building. A part of the roof fell on top of you, but it was only enough to damage your skin. Three or four of your ribs are cracked, too. And you've got cuts from the glass just about everywhere."

Robin looked at his body intently. He was wearing boxers, yes, but none of his usual clothing. He saw white bandages around his stomach and part of his chest, as well as a few bandages wrapped around his arms and legs. He could tell that there were a few scratches on his face, as well as one that would probably end up being a scar, right along his cheekbone.

"After we found you, we hightailed it out of there." Cyborg continued. "We came to this deserted hospital. The other Titans came and helped us fight after a while, but we had to hide and gather out strength. None of us were up to fighting after the long journey and the past hours-"

Suddenly, he stopped, as though he said something he shouldn't have. "How long was I out?" Robin dared to ask.

"I-I dunno, it's been a while…" Cyborg responded, rubbing his head. Robin could tell he was avoiding answering the question, and he glared at him for a moment before Cyborg finished, saying, "Forty eight hours."

"I've been out for _two days?_" Robin exclaimed, just about screaming. He forced himself up and tried to stand. He felt woozy for a moment, and suddenly he was on his hands and knees.

"Hey, hey!" Cyborg said, holding onto the teen's shoulder. "C'mon, man, you got hurt. You can't just wake up and expect to be able to-"

"Because I made a mistake, right?" Robin said steely. Cyborg looked at him, worried. "I didn't see the robot, I should've-" Robin felt himself almost begin to choke on the terror of the memory. It hurt, oh, God, it_ hurt…_

"It wasn't your fault." Cyborg said, shaking Robin's shoulder. "You didn't do anything-"

"Exactly." Robin whispered. "I didn't do _anything._"

Cyborg shook his head. "Listen, man-"

Robin looked him in the eyes, and Cyborg finally saw it. Robin's eyes were a light blue, and in them, he saw that rough pain that he had been trying to hide all of those years. The disappointment in himself was obvious, but there was a layer of sorrow that he couldn't hide. And underneath it all, it made him seem so…innocent. Not like Robin. Not what he needed to stay strong.

Robin knew instantly that Cyborg had seen too much, so he cut off the connection, turning his eyes away slightly. Robin forced himself back up on the bed to sit with Cyborg's help. "Where's everyone else?" he asked, trying to distract Cyborg.

As if on cue, Starfire, Beastboy, and Raven walked into the room. "Robin!" Starfire cried joyously. "You have awoken!" Starfire launched forward, about to hug Robin with the most force she could, but Raven held her with her dark energy.

"If you give him one of your hugs right now, Starfire, you'll probably break the rest of his body." Raven ordered calmly, and she let go of Starfire.

"So you _do _have eyes!" Beastboy exclaimed, looking eagerly at the Boy Wonder without his mask.

"Shut up."

A day passed, and Robin reunited with the rest of the Titans with ease, all of them taking careful notice at his eyes besides Kid Flash and Speedy, as they had known what his eyes looked like for years. He had already shown remarkable improvement, and was able to stand without excruciating pain.

"Now what?" Robin asked. "We've got to fight back, right?"

"We already tried that, remember? And that didn't work out so well…" Beastboy pointed out, glancing at Robin for a moment, examining his injuries.

"What if we all work on one robot at a time; take them down one by one?" Robin ventured, knowing it was a long shot, but still…

"They aren't in Jump anymore, remember?" Kid Flash reminded everyone. "They moved on yesterday; they're probably halfway across the country by now."

Robin shot Kid Flash a look, and the rest of the meeting went by unsuccessfully; the only thing the Titans could agree on was the stay put until Robin was well enough to help, as he would only need a few more days to heal completely thanks to Raven's healing powers. He'd have a few scars, but they would fade with time.

After the meeting ended, Robin cornered Kid Flash. "Wally…" he began in a hushed voice, using Kid Flash's real name to signal this discussion was concerning something having to do with their pasts. "When you said they could be halfway across the country by now…do you know if they've hit Gotham yet?"

"Dick…" Wally whispered cautiously, as though afraid to answer the question.

"Well?" he asked rushingly.

Wally sighed. "They got to Gotham while you were still asleep. The whole city's deserted, including Wayne Manor." He explained.

Dick shook his head in disbelief. "A-are you sure?" he stuttered slightly, the news catching him off guard.

"Very." Wally replied, nodding. "We put a tracker on their mother ship, and Cyborg hacked Gotham's cameras. We watched them go in and come out."

"Did you see Bruce?" Dick asked, referring to the Batman, his mentor, by his real name as well.

Wally shook his head. "No, but…he could still be with Superman, or…"

"Yeah, right." Dick scoffed. "He'd have tried to contact us by now."

Silence stretched upon them. "They didn't want me to tell you." Wally whispered. "The Titans don't know you're Dick Grayson, but they know that Batman lives in Gotham. When they saw that the Joining already went through Gotham, we agreed not to tell you…so just pretend you don't know, okay?"

Dick nodded. "Okay."

Bumblebee passed by, and they shut up immediately. "What?" she said, giving Wally a strange look. He urged her on, glancing at Dick. "Oh," Bumblebee whispered, and she hurried out of the hallway.

"So, what?" Dick continued. "We wait until I'm better and tons of people have died? Not on my watch."

"What else are we supposed to do?" Wally asked.

"I don't know, Wally…" Dick whispered. "I don't know."

After the discovery of Bruce's possible demise, Robin's recovery got harder. Nightmares began to plague him; for three nights straight, he would wake up in the middle of the night, Cyborg always left to tend to him.

Although his body was recovering well (he could already do most of his martial arts moves again), his mind was not. Nightmares of Bruce's terrible end refused to let go of his mind, torturing him until he could regain consciousness. Cyborg tried to help him, but Robin refused to tell him what his nightmares were about; telling him would result in Cyborg knowing that Kid Flash had told Robin about Gotham, and everything would go haywire. So he sought someone else's advice.

He approached Raven during the fourth night of his recovery; after waking up from a nightmare which Cyborg had managed to sleep through, Robin had slipped out of the room and entered Raven's.

"Rae?" he whispered, and Raven's violet eyes stared back at him.

"What?" Raven hissed. "Some people have to wake up in the morning for strategy planning, y'know."

"Sorry, sorry…" he murmured. "It's just…I know. About Gotham and everything."

"Who told-" she stopped and closed her eyes. "Wally. Of course."

"You know about him, too?" he asked incredulously. He had already known that Raven knew who he was, as she had been in his mind before and had seen his past.

"Yeah…I have a connection to your mind, remember?" Raven explained. "I saw the memories of Wally in there, too."

Robin nodded. "It's just…I can't stop thinking about it. Is it possible that you could…y'know…" he tried to get the words to come out. "Connect to him or something? See if he's okay?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "What happened to not caring about him?"

He shrugged. "You care about things the most when they're taken away."

Raven looked at him for a moment, and she nodded. "Okay. I can try."

She closed her eyes, and Robin watched as her mind and soul transformed into a white raven and flew, faster than the speed of light, out of her room and far away. Then, moments later, it returned at the same pace, and Raven opened her eyes.

"He's there…somewhere. I couldn't latch on long enough to see where he was, or how he was doing, but…he's alive." She explained.

Robin smiled. "Thanks, Raven." He approached the door of her room, prepared to exit. "See you in the morning, I guess." Tomorrow was Robin's last day of recovery. The next day, they would begin their attack; whatever it would be.

Raven's mouth curled upward, forming a smile. "See you in the morning."

Robin went to sleep peacefully for the first time in four days.

**I made this chapter longer; sorry it was a little fluffy, I had to give some time for Robin to recover. I figure next chapter will be planning, I guess, and the next chapter will be all BOOM BOOM POW POW FIGHTING YAAAAAAAAAAH! **

**Review, please. It keeps my sanity.**


	7. Chapter 7: Attack Gone Wrong

**Chapter 7**

**Monkey Girl 13624: Thanks! Reviews like this always make me smile :P**

**Thaliag.2: I got a little lazy at the end, sorry XP Thanks for the constructive criticism, it's definitely what I need right now; without criticism, I start to get a little lazy (as seen at the end of the last chapter)**

**YAAAAAY MORE STUFFS!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, Batman, or the Justice League (my dreams aren't real, sorry guys)**

Robin awoke to a slight shake on the shoulder. "C'mon," a voice murmured. "It's time to get up."

Robin groaned and rolled over, pulling the blankets over his head. "Dude…" Robin groaned. "The bats are probably still wide awake."

The next thing he knew, his blankets were pulled away from him, and Robin opened his eyes, watching Cyborg grasp his blankets.

"Don't make me drag you down there; it's just a review on the battle plans." Cyborg threatened.

"Then why does it have to be at four in the morning?"

"How should I know? Raven scheduled it, and when I tried to convince her to make it later, well…it didn't go as planned…" Cyborg absent mindedly rubbed the bump on his head.

"I'll be back in five minutes." Cyborg continued, throwing Robin's uniform on his bed. "We got one of your uniforms back from the tower; you won't have to go around maskless anymore."

Cyborg closed the door, and Robin hastily changed, putting his mask on for the first time in about a week. He smiled at the familiarity of his uniform, the one thing remaining of his crime fighting life.

A few minutes later, Robin arrived at the meeting. He sat next to Starfire, who squeezed his hand extremely tight for the procedure of the meeting, which somehow managed to last two hours.

"To recap," Raven said. "We'll split into pairs, and will attack the Joining's mothership, which is hovering over Titans Tower. Robin and Kid Flash will head towards the boss, while everyone else will weaken the entries to let them pass. After the head Joining is disengaged, we can-"

But Raven was cut off by a loud boom, and then the roof caved in. Debris exploded around them, and Raven desperately tried to hold up the rocks with her mind. Other titans pitched in, holding up rocks so they wouldn't hit others.

All except Robin.

Robin's throat tightened. Flashbacks streamed through his mind of when his injury developed, the rocks crashing on his back, the glass piercing his skin…

He wasn't even aware of backing up into the wall, and Starfire held his hand. "Robin? Robin, what is wrong? _Robin?_"

"I…I'm fine…" Robin murmured, holding onto Starfire's hand tightly. "Just need to…sit down, or…"

Suddenly, Starfire was screaming. Robin watched, helpless, as a large boulder hit Starfire on the head, knocking her out on the spot. "Star?" Robin whispered, bending down to Starfire and shaking her shoulder. "Star!"

Robin watched as the Joining robots flooded into the room, holding small needles in their hands. Robin, paralyzed by both the falling rocks and Starfire's state, didn't even notice the needle plunge into his arm, and didn't think about anything besides Starfire as he, too, fell unconscious.


	8. Chapter 8: Captured

**Chapter 8**

**Heyyyy I'm baaaaaack You know you missed me. C'mon. :P Admit it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the Batman, or the Justice League. Sorry. **

"_Robin." _

His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the room around him. He looked down at the tough bed beneath him, and then gazed at the many beds around him, most of them filled with people he knew. Starfire, Beastboy, Raven…Honorary Titans and main Titans alike, they were there.

Robin looked up shakily at the figure above him. He wore a yellow suit with a small, red lightning bolt on his chest.

"Kid Flash," Robin asked."Where are we?"

"In the Joining mothership." Kid Flash said hastily. "Robin, there's something you should-"

"Why are we here? Why do they want us?" Robin wondered aloud, cutting off Kid Flash. "I thought they wanted to destroy us, like the rest of the world."

"Robin!" Kid Flash shouted, shaking his shoulders. "It's not just us."

Robin looked around once more, and he noticed, for the first time, the others. It wasn't just the Titans. Taller, stronger, bigger...the Justice League was there, too.

And right nearby Robin's bed was an empty one, only holding Batman's belt.

Robin stood, his strength quickly returning, and walked over to the bed. He held Batman's belt in his hands, confused. "What…what happened? He's not…he's not dead, is he?" he stammered, refusing to think of the possibility.

"No." Kid Flash said, shaking his head. "He's-"

"Robin." A voice boomed from behind him. Robin turned around rushingly, about to draw his bow staff when he realized that they had taken away his belt. He looked up to see his attacker, when he saw…

"Batman?"

**Haha, sorry this is short XP The next chapter will be longer, I PROMISE…Robin gets an audience with both the Batman and the master of the Joining. MUAHAHAHAAAAAAA…you'll have to guess who the master of the Joining is. Trust me, he's someone you know *wink wink* *nudge nudge***


	9. Chapter 9: Old Friends

**Chapter 10**

**So when I told you guys to guess who the master of the Joining is I didn't expect you to guess RIGHT! But to make you still in suspicion, I'll tell you that some of you were right. SOME. **

**So…enjoy **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, Batman, or the Justice League. Unfortunately. But some people can be….persuaded… **

"Batman?"

Batman looked down at Robin, surprise laid in his eyes. "You're…you're still alive?"

Robin shook his head as though to clear up his thoughts. "Yeah…yeah, of course I am! Why?"

"The Joining told me that they took care of you. Stupid of me to believe them…" Batman muttered, and frowned at himself.

"Now what do we do?" Robin wondered. "We've got to get out of here before the Joining do…whatever they want to do."

"They wanted to take over the world, that's certain." Batman explained. "They did that. They…they've killed everyone. We're the only ones left. They need us for something."

"Wait…they killed everyone?" Robin asked, the truth dawning on him. "The whole planet…gone?"

"Not all of it yet." Batman replied, his voice as hard as stone. "They haven't gone overseas yet, but they've destroyed at least half of the United States already. It's only been days. And they're gaining strength; soon, they'll be able to obliterate an entire continent in the blink of an eye."

"Where's Alfred?" Robin whispered.

Batman shook his head. "Dead. I saw it."

Robin's eyes widened. He sat by and watched?

"I didn't have a choice." Batman answered, knowing Robin's unspoken question. "He was screaming at me to get out. I was almost at the exit pod when they came. I got locked it. I had to watch…"

Robin placed his hand on Batman's shoulder. No, he wasn't Batman at the moment. He was Bruce; a man who had lost and suffered so much, and just wanted to bring more good in the world, but kept being punished again and again. "Bruce…I…I'm so sorry…"

"I should be the one saying sorry." Bruce murmured. "Alfred was as much family to me as he was to you. I didn't protect him well enough."

"Don't. Don't say that." Robin- no, he was Dick right now- said, his voice wavering and beginning to crack. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this. You didn't do anything. You couldn't."

"Exactly. I didn't do anything." Bruce replied, mimicking Dick's angry words at his friend the other day.

"You couldn't." Dick enforced, squeezing Bruce's hand.

Kid Flash coughed from behind them. "Uh, guys? Sorry for interrupting a moment here, but-"

Kid Flash was thrown across the room, and Robin- he was Robin now, he had transformed from the injured orphan to the kid who kicks butt- turned into a defensive stance. He reached for his bow staff before he remembered that the Joining had taken that, along with his belt. He felt two Joining robots grab his arms and drag him away from Batman. "Batman!" he cried, trying to rip away from the Joining's grasp. But it was no use. Robin was thrown violently into another room, and the doors were locked behind him.

Robin stood up hastily and banged against the door. "Hey!" he screamed. "_Hey!_"

"Relax, Robin." A calm, snide voice whispered. "My servants brought you here so we could talk. Small chat."

Robin already knew who the voice belonged to before he turned around to face him.

Slade.

**You know how I said some of you guessed right? Well, some of you did. And so did the rest of you :P Next chapter, Robin will have a "calm" chat with Slade about his plans and be told about the impossible choice he will be forced to make. **


	10. Chapter 10: The Impossible Choice

**HOW DID IT TAKE THIS LONG TO WRITE ONE CHAPTER**

**I MEAN IT'S BEEN 4 MONTHS**

**AND I JUST STARTED THE CHAPTER TODAY**

**I'm sorry it's taken me forever to update! I've been really busy lately, as for some reason the summer is much busier than the school year. But things are slowing down, so updates will be much more frequent now. **

**Here you go! Chapter 10!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans ;(**

"Slade." Robin whispered venomously. He edged to the back of the room, the farthest from Slade he could possibly be.

"Hello, Robin." Slade murmured, turning to face Robin. "It's been a while."

Robin felt anger bubble up inside of him, like a volcano, but he kept his calm façade. For now.

"What do you want, Slade? Why are you doing this?" Robin asked, his voice betraying some of his anger, but mostly curiosity seeped through.

He wanted to have a reason for why he was doing this. Why he was behind it all. To torture him? Was this another scheme of Slade's to…what? Make Robin his apprentice again?

"Why?" Slade echoed, his voice airy and snide. "Why not?"

"You can't just wipe out a large fraction of the population without a _reason, _Slade. Even you can't do it without some sort of remorse." Robin seethed.

"Remorse?" Slade whispered. "Oh, Robin, I haven't felt remorse in years."

How could he not be guilty? Robin wondered. He was killing innocent people. He had done it before, but…it was to get his life back. He distantly remembered when Trigon had taken over, with the help of Slade. He got his life back. And he got to destroy the Titans for a time. That was a reason. But this…what was the point? Just killing the superheroes…killing the population…is that enough of reason for him?

"However," Slade muttered. "There is something I get out of the bargain."

Robin clenched his fists. "And what's that?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"You."

Robin frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" _Me?_ He thought. _What is he talking about? How does he…oh, no. No no no no no no no._

As Robin stumbled upon the answer, Slade smiled, his grin stretched out wide across his face. "Yes, Robin." Slade murmured. "Be my apprentice again, and I'll stop. Everyone else gets to live."

"And if I refuse?" Robin whispers, his voice treacherously close to breaking.

Slade beamed, the wide grin growing wider. "Every single life form on this planet will die. And you will watch it all. You'll be the last to go."

Being Slade's apprentice, or watching all of humanity die…there really was no choice. He had been Slade's apprentice for just the lives of his friends. But now all of humanity was held hostage in exchange for his freedom.

As Robin drowned in the terror of becoming Slade's apprentice once again, he was vaguely aware of an insane laughter coming from Slade.

He had won.


	11. Chapter 11: The Decision and the Reveal

**Chapter 11**

**Wow.**

**Okay. Hi. It's been a while.**

**I'm really sorry about the long wait! I've had a lot of medical issues going on recently, and I've been caught up in school work. But I'm going to be working a lot on this now, so don't worry! I'm going to try and do a chapter every week (they should be posted on Saturday), so there should be no more long waits.**

**Okay! I hope you enjoy it **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, or Batman, or the Justice League. Or the Joining. Or…yeah, I think that's it. Okay.**

_Previously:_

_As Robin stumbled upon the answer, Slade smiled, his grin stretched out wide across his face. "Yes, Robin." Slade murmured. "Be my apprentice again, and I'll stop. Everyone else gets to live."_

_"And if I refuse?" Robin whispers, his voice treacherously close to breaking._

_Slade beamed, the wide grin growing wider. "Every single life form on this planet will die. And you will watch it all. You'll be the last to go."_

_Being Slade's apprentice, or watching all of humanity die…there really was no choice. He had been Slade's apprentice for just the lives of his friends. But now all of humanity was held hostage in exchange for his freedom._

_As Robin drowned in the terror of becoming Slade's apprentice once again, he was vaguely aware of an insane laughter coming from Slade._

_He had won._

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Robin breathed heavily, not believing what had happened. Slade. Slade was behind it all, and now…now he had to give up his freedom for humanity. He would always be stuck in the shadow of the most despicable man in he had known, always be held back, be forced to fight for the opposite of what he wanted…he would do it, he had to do it, but that didn't mean he would like it.

"So? What's your answer?" Slade asked, his voice venomous and taunting.

Robin mumbled something underneath his breath.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that?" Slade drawled, his voice commanding and fierce.

"I said, I'll do it." Robin forced the words out of his mouth as though they were acid. The room's dark appearance shadowed over him suddenly, reflecting his inner thoughts on the situation. Slade grinned, his mouth turning upwards slyly.

"Good. Training will start tomorrow morning. Show up at six, precisely. Any later will resolve in…consequences." Slade paused, walking past Robin and almost out of the doorway.

As he reached the doorway, Slade turned his head to face Robin and spoke once more. "Just so you know, this wasn't all for you. I'm not that desperate. The Joining approached me, weak and vulnerable. I…improved them. It was in my interest to rule this world under an iron thumb. You just happened to be an extra incentive."

With that, Slade walked out of the room, giving Robin time to mull over the situation in private.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR R

"You're seriously doing it?" Cyborg asked, the memories of the last time Robin was forced to be Slade's apprentice forcing their way to the surface. It was a terrible time for everyone involved; Robin was at the center, he had to go against his own morals and destroy everything he loved. The Titans had to fight their friend; they had to deal with the possibility of Robin having betrayed them. No matter what, no one (besides Slade, of course) wanted Robin to go back to being Slade's apprentice.

"I don't have a choice." Robin replied, his chin resting on his hands, folded together and vertically upwards.

"So, what, you have to be his apprentice or he destroys the rest of humanity? That's kind of overkill, don't you think?" Beast Boy piped up.

Robin nodded. He had only told the immediate Titans of the news, while the honorary Titans and the Justice League had no idea. He had brushed right past Batman when he had gotten out of the room, ignoring his calls.

"That's Slade in a nutshell." Raven muttered, turning away.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Starfire asked. "I don't- we don't want you to have to go through this again. This shouldn't have to happen again."

Robin shook his head. "No, I don't think so. If something turns up, I'll let you know."

Cyborg nodded. "What's the plan? Just go with it until something turns up? Is that all?"

"Yes." Robin said. "Don't…don't get into trouble, alright? If he thinks something's going on, even if it's just a feeling, he'll start killing again."

"Alright, alright. We'll lay low. For now." Cyborg promised. "But…how long will this go on before we can do something?"

"I don't know," Robin murmured, almost musing to himself. "I…I don't know."


	12. Author's Note (sorry)

**I'm so sorry about this, but I'm abandoning/putting this story on hiatus. **

**I lost my entire outline for this story years ago, so I have no idea where I was going with it. I started writing this when I was 12, and my writing style has changed so much that it would be really hard to pick up the story. I was in a very different place in my life when I was 12 compared to now, when I'm 16, and I don't know how well I could write this story anymore. I love Teen Titans still, and I'm planning on writing more stories and one-shots for this fandom in the future, but I have no motivation to write this particular story anymore. **

**Again, I'm super sorry about this. If anyone wants to adopt this or rewrite it or anything, please let me know so I can follow it! You guys are the best, and I'm sorry for leaving you hanging like this. I love you guys 3**


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